2018 Lower Austrian state election
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2018 Lower Austrian state election
| country = Lower Austria
| flag_year = state
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 2013 Lower Austrian state election
| previous_year = 2013
| next_election = 2023 Lower Austrian state election
| next_year = 2023
| seats_for_election = All 56 seats in the Landtag of Lower Austria
{{small|29 seats needed for a majority}}
All 9 seats in the state government
| majority_seats =
| election_date = 28 January 2018
| turnout = 922,807 (66.6%)
{{decrease}} 4.3%
| image1 = 150x150px
| leader1 = Johanna Mikl-Leitner
| party1 = Austrian People's Party (2017)
| last_election1 = 30 seats, 50.8%
| seats1 = 29
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 1
| popular_vote1 = 450,812
| percentage1 = 49.6%
| swing1 = {{decrease}} 1.2%
| image2 = {{Css Image Crop| Image=Franz Schnabl.jpg| bSize=160| cWidth=115| cHeight=150| oTop=0| oLeft=35|}}
| leader2 = Franz Schnabl
| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Austria
| last_election2 = 13 seats, 21.6%
| seats2 = 13
| seat_change2 = {{steady}} 0
| popular_vote2 = 217,289
| percentage2 = 23.9%
| swing2 = {{increase}} 2.3%
| image3 = {{Css Image Crop| Image=20180121 NOE Landtagswahl 0414.jpg| bSize=140| cWidth=115| cHeight=150| oTop=0| oLeft=15|}}
| leader3 = Udo Landbauer
| party3 = Freedom Party of Austria
| last_election3 = 4 seats, 8.2%
| seats3 = 8
| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 4
| popular_vote3 = 134,085
| percentage3 = 14.8%
| swing3 = {{increase}} 6.6%
| image4 = {{Css Image Crop| Image=Krismer-Huber Helga 23-05-13 KG 01.JPG| bSize=150| cWidth=115| cHeight=150| oTop=30| oLeft=10|}}
| leader4 = Helga Krismer
| party4 = The Greens – The Green Alternative
| last_election4 = 4 seats, 8.1%
| seats4 = 3
| seat_change4 = {{decrease}} 1
| popular_vote4 = 58,401
| percentage4 = 6.4%
| swing4 = {{decrease}} 1.6%
| image5 = 150x150px
| leader5 = Indra Collini
| party5 = NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum
| last_election5 = Did not contest
| seats5 = 3
| seat_change5 = {{increase}} 3
| popular_vote5 = 46,801
| percentage5 = 5.2%
| swing5 = {{increase}} 5.2%
| map_image = State election card Lower Austria 2018.svg
| map_size = 300px
| map_caption = Results by municipality.
| title = Governor
| before_election = Johanna Mikl-Leitner
| before_party = Austrian People's Party
| after_election = Johanna Mikl-Leitner
| after_party = Austrian People's Party
}}
The 2018 Lower Austrian state election was held on 28 January 2018 to elect the members of the Landtag of Lower Austria.
The ruling Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) fell just short of an absolute majority of votes, but retained its majority in the Landtag. Nonetheless, this was its worst result in the state since 1998. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) made gains, with the latter doubling its share of seats. The Greens took minor losses, while NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) contested its first state election in Lower Austria, debuting at 5.2%. Team Stronach, which had won 9.8% in the previous election, did not compete.{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20181/Index.html|title=State of Lower Austria - Landtag election 2018|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}
Background
The Lower Austrian constitution mandates that cabinet positions in the state government (state councillors, {{langx|de|Landesräten}}) be allocated between parties proportionally in accordance with the share of votes won by each; this is known as Proporz. As such, the government is a perpetual coalition of all parties that qualify for at least one state councillor. After the 2013 election, the ÖVP had six councillors, the SPÖ two, and Team Stronach one.
Electoral system
The 56 seats of the Landtag of Lower Austria are elected via open list proportional representation in a two-step process. The seats are distributed between twenty multi-member constituencies. For parties to receive any representation in the Landtag, they must either win at least one seat in a constituency directly, or clear a 4 percent state-wide electoral threshold. Seats are distributed in constituencies according to the Hare quota, with any remaining seats allocated using the D'Hondt method at the state level, to ensure overall proportionality between a party's vote share and its share of seats.{{cite web|url=https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=LrNO&Gesetzesnummer=20000067|title=ROS - NÖ Landtag electoral law 1992 - State law for Lower Austria, version of 04.08.2020|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}
Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag.
| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" colspan="3"| Name ! rowspan="2"| Ideology ! rowspan="2"| Leader ! colspan="3"| 2013 result |
| Votes (%)
! Seats ! Councillors |
|---|
| style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| ÖVP | Austrian People's Party | style="text-align:center;"| 50.8% | {{Composition bar|30|56|{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}}} | {{Composition bar|6|9|{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}}} |
| style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| SPÖ | Social Democratic Party of Austria | Franz Schnabl | style="text-align:center;"| 21.6% | {{Composition bar|13|56|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}}} | {{Composition bar|2|9|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}}} |
| style="background:{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| FPÖ | Freedom Party of Austria | Right-wing populism | style="text-align:center;"| 8.2% | {{Composition bar|4|56|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}}} |
| style="background:{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}};"|
| style="text-align:center;"| GRÜNE | The Greens – The Green Alternative | Helga Krismer | style="text-align:center;"| 8.1% | {{Composition bar|4|56|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}}} |
Team Stronach, which contested the previous election and won 9.8% of votes, five seats, and one state councillor, did not contest the 2018 election.
In addition to the parties already represented in the Landtag, four parties collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20181/Parteien.html|title=Parties|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}
- NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS)
- Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ) – on the ballot only in Amstetten, Melk, and Mödling
- We for Lower Austria (WFNOE) – on the ballot only in Baden
Opinion polling
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:14px;" |
| style="height:40px;"
! style="width:150px;" rowspan="2"| Polling firm ! style="width:125px;" rowspan="2"| Fieldwork date ! style="width:35px;" rowspan="2"| Sample ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| ÖVP ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| SPÖ ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| FPÖ ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| Grüne ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| NEOS ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Others ! style="width:30px;" rowspan="2"| Lead |
| style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};"|
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}};"| ! style="background:{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}};"| ! style="background:{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}};"| ! style="background:{{party color|NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum}};"| |
|---|
| style="background:#E9E9E9;"
| 2018 state election | data-sort-value="2018-01-28"| 28 Jan 2018 | – | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 49.6 | 23.9 | 14.8 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 0.1 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 25.7 |
| [https://kurier.at/politik/inland/entscheidung-in-noe-eine-wahl-mit-fuenf-siegern/307.543.775 Research Affairs]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-19"| 16–18 Jan 2018 | 413 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 45 | 23 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 1 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 22 |
| [https://kurier.at/politik/inland/entscheidung-in-noe-eine-wahl-mit-fuenf-siegern/307.543.775 OGM]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-21"| 8–16 Jan 2018 | 831 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 45 | 26 | 19 | 5 | 5 | – | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 19 |
| [https://www.noen.at/niederoesterreich/politik/aktuelle-noen-wahlumfrage-vp-absolute-in-griffweite-sp-klar-auf-platz-zwei-landtagswahl-2018-hajek-wahlumfrage-sonntagsfrage-absolute-mehrheit-wahl-74117527 Public Opinion Strategies]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-15"| 2–11 Jan 2018 | 805 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 48 | 23 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 1 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 25 |
| [https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000072255892/oevp-niederoesterreich-muss-um-absolute-mehrheit-bangen Market]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-15"| January 2018 | ? | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 46 | 24 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 2 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 22 |
| [https://www.heute.at/s/umfrage-mikl-leitner-konnte-absolute-schaffen-42703866 Unique Research]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-10"| 2–10 Jan 2018 | 500 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 47 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 2 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 24 |
| [https://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/politik/erste-noe-umfrage-vp-klare-nummer-1/315964207 Research Affairs]
| data-sort-value="2018-01-05"| 3–5 Jan 2018 | 410 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 45 | 22 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 3 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 23 |
| [https://www.diepresse.com/5336100/no-wahl-ovp-holt-laut-umfrage-die-absolute SOZAB]
| data-sort-value="2017-12-10"| 30 Oct–25 Nov 2017 | 1,500 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 50 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 3 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 28 |
| [https://kurier.at/politik/inland/oevp-liegt-vorne-aber-rot-und-blau-holen-auf/298.619.047 OGM]
| data-sort-value="2017-11-14"| 9–14 Nov 2017 | 784 | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 45 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 2 | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 20 |
| style="background:#E9E9E9;"
| data-sort-value="2013-03-13"| 3 Mar 2013 | – | style="background:#D2EDF1;"| 50.8 | 21.6 | 8.2 | 8.1 | – | 11.3{{efn|Including Team Stronach (9.8%), which did not contest the 2018 election.}} | style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 29.2 |
Results
| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
| align=center colspan=9| File:Landtag of Lower Austria 2018.svg |
| colspan=2|Party
! Votes ! % ! +/− ! Seats ! +/− ! {{abbr|Coun.|State councillors}} ! +/− |
|---|
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|
| align=left| Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) | 450,812 | 49.63 | –1.16 | 29 | –1 | 6 | ±0 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) | 217,289 | 23.92 | +2.35 | 13 | ±0 | 2 | ±0 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) | 134,085 | 14.76 | +6.55 | 8 | +4 | 1 | +1 |
| bgcolor={{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|
| align=left| The Greens – The Green Alternative (GRÜNE) | 58,401 | 6.43 | –1.63 | 3 | –1 | 0 | ±0 |
| bgcolor={{party color|NEOS – The New Austria}}|
| align=left| NEOS – The New Austria (NEOS) | 46,801 | 5.15 | +5.15 | 3 | +3 | 0 | New |
| colspan=9 bgcolor=lightgrey| |
| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Party of Austria}}|
| align=left| Christian Party of Austria (CPÖ) | 584 | 0.06 | –0.03 | 0 | ±0 | 0 | ±0 |
| | align=left| We for Lower Austria (WFNOE)
| 367 | 0.04 | New | 0 | New | 0 | New |
| colspan=2 align=left| Invalid/blank votes
| 14,468 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| colspan=2 align=left| Total
| 922,807 | 100 | – | 56 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| align=left colspan=2| Registered voters/turnout
| 1,386,356 | 66.56 | –4.31 | – | – | – | – |
| align=left colspan=9 |Source: [http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20181/Index.html?area=l Lower Austrian Government] |
{{bar box
| title = Popular vote
| float =
| titlebar = #ddd
| width = 500px
| barwidth = 400px
| bars =
{{bar percent|ÖVP|{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|49.63}}
{{bar percent|SPÖ|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|23.92}}
{{bar percent|FPÖ|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|14.76}}
{{bar percent|GRÜNE|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|6.43}}
{{bar percent|NEOS|{{party color|NEOS – The New Austria}}|5.15}}
{{bar percent|Other|#777777|0.10}}}}
{{bar box
| title = Landtag seats
| float =
| titlebar = #ddd
| width = 500px
| barwidth = 400px
| bars =
{{bar percent|ÖVP|{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|51.78}}
{{bar percent|SPÖ|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|23.21}}
{{bar percent|FPÖ|{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|14.28}}
{{bar percent|GRÜNE|{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|5.36}}
{{bar percent|NEOS|{{party color|NEOS – The New Austria}}|5.36}}}}
=Results by constituency=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:16px" | |||||||||||||
| style="height:40px;"
! style="width:140px;" rowspan="3"| Constituency ! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| ÖVP ! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| SPÖ ! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| FPÖ ! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| Grüne ! style="width:60px;" colspan="2"| NEOS ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Others ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="3"| Total ! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="3"| Turnout | |||||||||||||
| colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}};"|
! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}};"| ! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}};"| ! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}};"| ! colspan="2" style="background:{{party color|NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum}};"| | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}}
! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}} ! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}} ! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}} ! class=unsortable| % || class=unsortable| {{abbr|S|Seats}} ! class=unsortable| % | |||||||||||||
| align=left| Amstetten | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 52.7 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 2 | 23.0 | 1 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 4.6 | 0.4 | 3 | 69.4 | |||
| align=left| Baden | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 40.1 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 2 | 29.0 | 1 | 15.9 | 7.8 | 6.6 | 0.5 | 3 | 61.5 | |||
| align=left| Bruck an der Leitha | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 41.7 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 30.3 | bgcolor=#F4C6C9| 1 | 17.0 | 6.3 | 4.7 | 2 | 60.7 | ||||
| align=left| Gänserndorf | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 46.4 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 28.2 | 16.5 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 1 | 62.5 | |||||
| align=left| Gmünd | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 53.9 | 26.1 | 13.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 0 | 69.5 | ||||||
| align=left| Hollabrunn | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 58.1 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 19.7 | 13.2 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 1 | 70.4 | |||||
| align=left| Horn | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 65.0 | 15.8 | 11.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 0 | 72.7 | ||||||
| align=left| Korneuburg | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 49.4 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 22.7 | 13.3 | 8.2 | 6.4 | 1 | 65.0 | |||||
| align=left| Krems an der Donau | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 54.0 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 20.2 | 14.1 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 1 | 70.4 | |||||
| align=left| Lilienfeld | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 48.6 | 29.5 | 13.8 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 0 | 72.1 | ||||||
| align=left| Melk | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 52.4 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 22.7 | 16.0 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 1 | 70.8 | ||||
| align=left| Mistelbach | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 57.1 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 19.6 | 13.8 | 5.7 | 3.9 | 1 | 70.5 | |||||
| align=left| Mödling | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 43.4 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 23.0 | bgcolor=#F4C6C9| 1 | 11.4 | 11.7 | 10.2 | 0.3 | 2 | 64.1 | |||
| align=left| Neunkirchen | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 45.5 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 28.9 | bgcolor=#F4C6C9| 1 | 17.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 2 | 66.2 | ||||
| align=left| Sankt Pölten | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 45.8 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 2 | 26.6 | 1 | 14.1 | 7.8 | 5.7 | 3 | 66.2 | ||||
| align=left| Scheibbs | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 59.5 | 20.1 | 12.1 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 0 | 72.4 | ||||||
| align=left| Tulln | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 50.9 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 20.1 | 13.4 | 9.0 | 6.6 | 1 | 65.7 | |||||
| align=left| Waidhofen an der Thaya | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 55.0 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 0 | 69.8 | ||||||
| align=left| Wiener Neustadt | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 45.7 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 2 | 26.6 | 1 | 18.3 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3 | 63.0 | ||||
| align=left| Zwettl | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 63.4 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 1 | 13.1 | 15.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 1 | 73.2 | |||||
| colspan=14 bgcolor=lightgrey| | |||||||||||||
| align=left| Remaining seats | 10 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 30 | |||||||
| colspan=14 bgcolor=lightgrey| | |||||||||||||
| align=left| Total | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 49.6 | bgcolor=#D2EDF1| 29 | 23.9 | 13 | 14.8 | 8 | 6.4 | 3 | 5.2 | 3 | 0.1 | 56 | 66.6 |
| class=sortbottom
| colspan=14 align=left| Source: [http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20181/Index.html?area=w Lower Austrian Government] |
=Preference votes=
Alongside votes for a party, voters were able to cast a preferential votes for a candidate on the party list. The ten candidates with the most preferential votes were as follows:{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/wahlen/L20181/Kandidaten.html|title=Candidates|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center"
! colspan=2| Party ! {{abbr|Pos.|Position on party list}} ! Candidate ! Votes ! {{abbr|%|Candidate's votes as a percentage of all preferential votes cast for their party's list}} |
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|
| ÖVP | 1 | align=left| Johanna Mikl-Leitner | 186,133 | 77.4 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|
| FPÖ | 1 | align=left| Udo Landbauer | 41,461 | 75.3 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| SPÖ | 1 | align=left| Franz Schnabl | 39,950 | 58.8 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|
| ÖVP | 2 | align=left| Stefan Pernkopf | 18,465 | 7.7 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|
| ÖVP | 4 | align=left| Karl Wilfing | 7,491 | 3.1 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Austrian People's Party (2017)}}|
| ÖVP | 6 | align=left| Ludwig Schleritzko | 7,091 | 2.9 |
| bgcolor={{party color|The Greens – The Green Alternative}}|
| GRÜNE | 1 | align=left| Helga Krismer | 7,079 | 42.4 |
| bgcolor={{party color|NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum}}|
| NEOS | 1 | align=left| Indra Collini | 6,959 | 59.7 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Austria}}|
| SPÖ | 2 | align=left| Karin Renner | 4,309 | 6.3 |
| bgcolor={{party color|Freedom Party of Austria}}|
| FPÖ | 2 | align=left| Gottfried Waldhäusl | 4,133 | 7.5 |
Aftermath
The ÖVP retained its Landtag majority and six out of nine state councillors; the SPÖ also retained its two councillors. With the disappearance of Team Stronach, the FPÖ moved into third place on a strong swing, and won one state councillor.{{cite web|url=http://www.noe.gv.at/noe/Landesregierung/Landesregierung.html|title=State government|publisher=Lower Austrian Government}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Austrian local elections}}
Category:2018 elections in Austria